Five MR. JULIUS P. HERSHEIMER

Five MR. JULIUS P. HERSHEIMER

“Well,” said Tuppence, recovering herself, “it really seems as though itwere meant to be.”
Carter nodded.
“I know what you mean. I’m superstitious¹ myself. Luck, and all that sortof thing. Fate seems to have chosen you out to be mixed up in this.”
Tommy indulged in a chuckle².
“My word! I don’t wonder Whittington got the wind up when Tuppenceplumped out that name! I should have myself. But look here, sir, we’re tak-ing up an awful lot of your time. Have you any tips to give us before weclear out?”
“I think not. My experts, working in stereotyped³ ways, have failed. Youwill bring imagination and an open mind to the task. Don’t be discouragedif that too does not succeed. For one thing there is a likelihood of the pacebeing forced.”
Tuppence frowned uncomprehendingly.
“When you had that interview with Whittington, they had time beforethem. I have information that the big coup⁴ was planned for early in thenew year. But the Government is contemplating⁵ legislative⁶ action whichwill deal effectually with the strike menace. They’ll get wind of it soon, ifthey haven’t already, and it’s possible that they may bring things to ahead. I hope it will myself. The less time they have to mature their plansthe better. I’m just warning you that you haven’t much time before you,and that you needn’t be cast down if you fail. It’s not an easy propositionanyway. That’s all.”
Tuppence rose.
“I think we ought to be businesslike. What exactly can we count uponyou for, Mr. Carter?”
Mr. Carter’s lips twitched⁸ slightly, but he replied succinctly⁹:
“Funds within reason, detailed¹⁰ information on any point, and no officialrecognition. I mean that if you get yourselves into trouble with the police, Ican’t officially help you out of it. You’re on your own.”
Tuppence nodded sagely¹¹.
“I quite understand that. I’ll write out a list of the things I want to knowwhen I’ve had time to think. Now—about money—”
“Yes, Miss Tuppence. Do you want to say how much?”
“Not exactly. We’ve got plenty to go on with for the present, but whenwe want more—”
“It will be waiting for you.”
“Yes, but—I’m sure I don’t want to be rude about the Government ifyou’ve got anything to do with it, but you know one really has the devil ofa time getting anything out of it! And if we have to fill up a blue form andsend it in, and then, after three months, they send us a green one, and soon—well, that won’t be much use, will it?”
Mr. Carter laughed outright¹².
“Don’t worry, Miss Tuppence. You will send a personal demand to mehere, and the money, in notes, shall be sent by return of post. As to salary,shall we say at the rate of three hundred a year? And an equal sum for Mr.
Beresford, of course.”
Tuppence beamed upon him.
“How lovely. You are kind. I do love money! I’ll keep beautiful accountsof our expenses—all debit¹³ and credit, and the balance on the right side,and a red line drawn¹⁴ sideways with the totals the same at the bottom. Ireally know how to do it when I think.”
“I’m sure you do. Well, good-bye, and good luck to you both.”
He shook hands with them and in another minute they were descendingthe steps of 27 Carshalton Terrace with their heads in a whirl.
“Tommy! Tell me at once, who is ‘Mr. Carter?’ ”
Tommy murmured a name in her ear.
“Oh!” said Tuppence, impressed.
“And I can tell you, old bean, he’s rr!”
“Oh!” said Tuppence again. Then she added reflectively: “I like him,don’t you? He looks so awfully¹⁵ tired and bored, and yet you feel that un-derneath he’s just like steel, all keen and flashing. Oh!” She gave a skip.
“Pinch me, Tommy, do pinch me. I can’t believe it’s real!”
Mr. Beresford obliged.
“Ow! That’s enough! Yes, we’re not dreaming. We’ve got a job!”
“And what a job! The joint¹⁶ venture has really begun.”
“It’s more respectable than I thought it would be,” said Tuppencethoughtfully.
“Luckily I haven’t got your craving¹⁷ for crime! What time is it? Let’s havelunch—oh!”
The same thought sprang to the minds of each. Tommy voiced it first.
“Julius P. Hersheimmer!”
“We never told Mr. Carter about hearing from him.”
“Well, there wasn’t much to tell—not till we’ve seen him. Come on, we’dbetter take a taxi.”
“Now who’s being extravagant¹⁸?”
“All expenses paid, remember. Hop⁷ in.”
“At any rate, we shall make a better effect arriving this way,” said Tup-pence, leaning back luxuriously¹⁹. “I’m sure blackmailers never arrive inbuses!”
“We’ve ceased being blackmailers,” Tommy pointed²⁰ out.
“I’m not sure I have,” said Tuppence darkly.
On inquiring for Mr. Hersheimmer, they were at once taken up to hissuite. An impatient voice cried “Come in” in answer to the page boy’sknock, and the lad stood aside to let then pass in.
Mr. Julius P. Hersheimmer was a great deal younger than either Tommyor Tuppence had pictured him. The girl put him down as thirty-five. Hewas of middle height, and squarely built to match his jaw²¹. His face waspugnacious but pleasant. No one could have mistaken him for anythingbut an American, though he spoke²² with very little accent.
“Get my note?” Sit down and tell me right away all you know about mycousin.”
“Your cousin?”
“Sure thing. Jane Finn.”
“Is she your cousin?”
“My father and her mother were brother and sister,” explained Mr. Her-sheimmer meticulously²³.
“Oh!” cried Tuppence. “Then you know where she is?”
“No!” Mr. Hersheimmer brought down his fist with a bang on the table.
“I’m darned if I do! Don’t you?”
“We advertised to receive information, not to give it,” said Tuppenceseverely.
“I guess I know that. I can read. But I thought maybe it was her back his-tory you were after, and that you’d know where she was now?”
“Well, we wouldn’t mind hearing her back history,” said Tuppenceguardedly.
But Mr. Hersheimmer seemed to grow suddenly suspicious.
“See here,” he declared. “This isn’t Sicily! No demanding ransom²⁴ orthreatening to crop her ears if I refuse. These are the British Isles²⁵, so quitthe funny business, or I’ll just sing out for that beautiful big British police-man I see out there in Piccadilly.”
Tommy hastened to explain.
“We haven’t kidnapped your cousin. On the contrary, we’re trying tofind her. We’re employed to do so.”
Mr. Hersheimmer leant back in his chair.
“Put me wise,” he said succinctly.
Tommy fell in with this demand in so far as he gave him a guarded ver-sion of the disappearance²⁶ of Jane Finn, and of the possibility of her havingbeen mixed up unawares in “some political show.” He alluded²⁷ to Tup-pence and himself as “private inquiry²⁸ agents” commissioned to find her,and added that they would therefore be glad of any details Mr. Hersheim-mer could give them.
That gentleman nodded approval.
“I guess that’s my right. I was just a mite²⁹ hasty. But London gets mygoat! I only know little old New York. Just trot³⁰ your questions and I’ll an-swer.”
For the moment this paralysed the Young Adventurers, but Tuppence,recovering herself, plunged³¹ boldly into the breach³² with a reminiscenceculled from detective fiction.
“When did you last see the dece—your cousin, I mean?”
“Never seen her,” responded Mr. Hersheimmer.
“What?” demanded Tommy astonished.
Hersheimmer turned to him.
“No, sir. As I said before, my father and her mother were brother andsister, just as you might be”—Tommy did not correct this view of their re-lationship—“but they didn’t always get on together. And when my auntmade up her mind to marry Amos Finn, who was a poor school teacherout West, my father was just mad! Said if he made his pile, as he seemedin a fair way to do, she’d never see a cent of it. Well, the upshot was thatAunt Jane went out West and we never heard from her again.
“The old man did pile it up. He went into oil, and he went into steel, andhe played a bit with railroads, and I can tell you he made Wall Street situp!” He paused. “Then he died — last fall — and I got the dollars. Well,would you believe it, my conscience got busy! Kept knocking me up andsaying: What about your Aunt Jane, way out West? It worried me some.
You see, I figured it out that Amos Finn would never make good. He wasn’tthe sort. End of it was, I hired a man to hunt her down. Result, she wasdead, and Amos Finn was dead, but they’d left a daughter—Jane—who’dbeen torpedoed³³ in the Lusitania on her way to Paris. She was saved allright, but they didn’t seem able to hear of her over this side. I guessed theyweren’t hustling³⁴ any, so I thought I’d come along over, and speed thingsup. I phoned Scotland Yard and the Admiralty first thing. The Admiraltyrather choked me off, but Scotland Yard were very civil—said they wouldmake inquiries³⁵, even sent a man round this morning to get her photo-graph. I’m off to Paris tomorrow, just to see what the Prefecture is doing. Iguess if I go to and fro hustling them, they ought to get busy!”
The energy of Mr. Hersheimmer was tremendous. They bowed before it.
“But say now,” he ended, “you’re not after her for anything? Contemptof court, or something British? A proud- spirited young American girlmight find your rules and regulations in wartime rather irksome, and getup against it. If that’s the case, and there’s such a thing as graft³⁶ in thiscountry, I’ll buy her off.”
Tuppence reassured³⁷ him.
“That’s good. Then we can work together. What about some lunch? Shallwe have it up here, or go down to the restaurant?”
Tuppence expressed a preference for the latter, and Julius bowed to herdecision.
Oysters³⁸ had just given place to Sole Colbert when a card was brought toHersheimmer.
“Inspector Japp, C.I.D. Scotland Yard again. Another man this time.
What does he expect I can tell him that I didn’t tell the first chap? I hopethey haven’t lost that photograph. That Western photographer’s place wasburned down and all his negatives destroyed—this is the only copy in ex-istence. I got it from the principal of the college there.”
An unformulated dread³⁹ swept over Tuppence.
“You—you don’t know the name of the man who came this morning?”
“Yes, I do. No, I don’t. Half a second. It was on his card. Oh, I know! In-spector Brown. Quiet unassuming sort of chap.”

1 superstitious   

adj.迷信的

参考例句：

• They aim to deliver the people who are in bondage to superstitious belief.他们的目的在于解脱那些受迷信束缚的人。
• These superstitious practices should be abolished as soon as possible.这些迷信做法应尽早取消。

2 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

3 stereotyped   

adj.(指形象、思想、人物等)模式化的

参考例句：

• There is a sameness about all these tales. They're so stereotyped -- all about talented scholars and lovely ladies. 这些书就是一套子，左不过是些才子佳人，最没趣儿。
• He is the stereotyped monster of the horror films and the adventure books, and an obvious (though not perhaps strictly scientific) link with our ancestral past. 它们是恐怖电影和惊险小说中的老一套的怪物，并且与我们的祖先有着明显的（虽然可能没有科学的）联系。

4 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

5 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

6 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

7 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

8 twitched   

vt.& vi.（使）抽动，（使）颤动（twitch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Her lips twitched with amusement. 她忍俊不禁地颤动着嘴唇。
• The child's mouth twitched as if she were about to cry. 这小孩的嘴抽动着，像是要哭。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 succinctly   

adv.简洁地；简洁地，简便地

参考例句：

• He writes simply and succinctly, rarely adding too much adornment. 他的写作风格朴实简练，很少添加饰词。 来自互联网
• No matter what question you are asked, answer it honestly and succinctly. 总之，不管你在面试中被问到什么问题，回答都要诚实而简明。 来自互联网

10 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

11 sagely   

adv. 贤能地，贤明地

参考例句：

• Even the ones who understand may nod sagely. 即使对方知道这一点，也会一本正经地点头同意。
• Well, that's about all of the sagely advice this old grey head can come up with. 好了，以上就是我这个满头银发的老头儿给你们的充满睿智的忠告。

12 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

13 debit   

n.借方，借项，记人借方的款项

参考例句：

• To whom shall I debit this sum?此款应记入谁的账户的借方？
• We undercharge Mr.Smith and have to send him a debit note for the extra amount.我们少收了史密斯先生的钱，只得给他寄去一张借条所要欠款。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

15 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

16 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

17 craving   

n.渴望,热望

参考例句：

• a craving for chocolate 非常想吃巧克力
• She skipped normal meals to satisfy her craving for chocolate and crisps. 她不吃正餐，以便满足自己吃巧克力和炸薯片的渴望。

18 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

19 luxuriously   

adv.奢侈地，豪华地

参考例句：

• She put her nose luxuriously buried in heliotrope and tea roses. 她把自己的鼻子惬意地埋在天芥菜和庚申蔷薇花簇中。 来自辞典例句
• To be well dressed doesn't mean to be luxuriously dressed. 穿得好不一定衣着豪华。 来自辞典例句

20 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

21 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

22 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

23 meticulously   

adv.过细地，异常细致地；无微不至；精心

参考例句：

• The hammer's silvery head was etched with holy runs and its haft was meticulously wrapped in blue leather. 锤子头是纯银制成的，雕刻着神圣符文，而握柄则被精心地包裹在蓝色的皮革中。 来自辞典例句
• She is always meticulously accurate in punctuation and spelling. 她的标点和拼写总是非常精确。 来自辞典例句

24 ransom   

n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救

参考例句：

• We'd better arrange the ransom right away.我们最好马上把索取赎金的事安排好。
• The kidnappers exacted a ransom of 10000 from the family.绑架者向这家人家勒索10000英镑的赎金。

25 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

26 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

27 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

28 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

29 mite   

n.极小的东西；小铜币

参考例句：

• The poor mite was so ill.可怜的孩子病得这么重。
• He is a mite taller than I.他比我高一点点。

30 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

31 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

32 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

33 torpedoed   

用鱼雷袭击（torpedo的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Her comments had torpedoed the deal. 她的一番话使得那笔交易彻底告吹。
• The battle ship was torpedoed. 该战列舰遭到了鱼雷的袭击。

34 hustling   

催促（hustle的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Our quartet was out hustling and we knew we stood good to take in a lot of change before the night was over. 我们的四重奏是明显地卖座的， 而且我们知道在天亮以前，我们有把握收入一大笔钱。
• Men in motors were hustling to pass one another in the hustling traffic. 开汽车的人在繁忙的交通中急急忙忙地互相超车。

35 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

36 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

37 reassured   

adj.使消除疑虑的；使放心的v.再保证，恢复信心( reassure的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The captain's confidence during the storm reassured the passengers. 在风暴中船长的信念使旅客们恢复了信心。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The doctor reassured the old lady. 医生叫那位老妇人放心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

38 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

39 dread   

vt.担忧，忧虑；惧怕，不敢；n.担忧，畏惧

参考例句：

• We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
• Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。